Bruins 4, Senators 3

Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) -The Boston Bruins scored a late goal to help avoid another third-period collapse.

Patrice Bergeron got the winner with 6:28 remaining and Glen Murray scored two goals to lift the Bruins to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

"We did two important things in this game," Bruins goalie Tim Thomas said. "We didn't lose our composure when they tied it up and after we scored, we held the lead.

Bergeron scored when he redirected a slap shot from Brad Stuart past Senators goalie Martin Gerber. Petr Tenkrat also scored for the Bruins.

"Wins have been tough to come by," Murray said. "We've had trouble holding leads and we can't afford to give any games away."

Earlier this season, the Bruins blew a three-goal lead to Buffalo with 9 minutes remaining and lost to Montreal by allowing a goal with 1 second left.

P.J. Axelsson had two assists for Boston, which allowed fewer than five goals for the first time in five games.

Ottawa fell to 1-5-1 in its last seven overall and against the Bruins.

"Once you start losing a few, you start thinking about it and become more hesitant," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said.

Chris Neil tied the score 3-3 after he got his second goal of the night when he redirected a shot from Peter Schaefer past Bruins goalie Tim Thomas 1:25 into the third period.

Neil had cut the Bruins lead to 3-2 with 53 seconds left in the second period beating Thomas with a backhander. Jason Spezza also scored for the Senators.

"I don't know what it's going to take," Senators coach Bryan Murray said. "We had some guys play hard, but other people have to step up besides Neil."

With the Bruins ahead 2-1, Murray scored when he wristed a shot past Gerber with 2:36 remaining in the second period.

"I played with (Ilya) Kovalchuk and (Jarome) Iginla and I see a lot of similarities with Glen," Bruins center Marc Savard said. "He is always in great shape, works hard and he should score a lot more before his career is done."

Murray gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead when he tipped in a rebound from a Zdeno Chara slap shot 23 seconds into the second period.

Spezza scored his eighth goal and leads Ottawa with 21 points. Schaefer added two assists as the Senators concluded a 1-3 road trip.

Tenkrat scored his first goal of the season for Boston after being recalled from Providence earlier in the day.

After a scoreless first period, both teams combined for five in the second.

Notes: Ottawa opened its all-time series against Boston with 17 consecutive losses and a 22-game winless streak. ... Murray is in his 15th season and leads the Bruins with eight goals. ... Savard has 12 points in the last six games. ... Spezza's power-play goal was Ottawa's fifth in 50 opportunities. ... Boston won its first matchup with Ottawa this season when Zdeno Chara scored late in the third period for a 2-1 victory.